Abstract
Given the rate at which college students seek help for relationship problems and the familial transmission of relationship difficulties, it is important to understand the familial factors that are associated with relationship quality for young adults. It was hypothesized that parental relationship communication patterns (i.e., conflict and withdrawal) would be related to similar communication patterns of young adults in romantic relationships. Furthermore, it was predicted that young adult communication patterns, including destructive communication styles such as conflict and withdrawal, as well as constructive communication, would be related to relationship satisfaction in young adults, and that parents’ communication styles would be indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction. It was also expected that young adults' relationship awareness would moderate the association between parental relationship communication and young adults’ relationship communication patterns. These hypotheses were partially supported. Structural equation modelling was utilized to examine data from 184 young adults, who were in heterosexual romantic relationships, and their mothers. First, there was an association between parents’ use of conflictual and withdrawn communication and young adults’ use of these same patterns. However, when parent marital status was added as a covariate, parental conflict no longer predicted young adult conflict. Unexpectedly, relationship awareness did not moderate these relationships. In addition, young adults’ use of conflictual and constructive communication were associated with relationship satisfaction in predicted directions, and parent withdrawal was indirectly related to relationship satisfaction through constructive communication. It is important for clinicians to understand the links between family and relationship problems in young adults, since these links can be relevant to case conceptualization and the application of effective therapeutic interventions.